37: Chapter 37 Soaring Doubt

There were indeed clues in the tent, and not only were there clues, but a new rule was also discovered:

[Plot Rule 6: After falling asleep on time, the Strategists and Raiders participating in the plot can communicate with each other regardless of distance. Communication time during sleep: minutes will be measured by the second.]

After memorizing this rule, the three of them took their respective clues and gathered at their usual spot.

Upon meeting, Xiao Zhenghong threw out a letter.

Zhao Hongxiu had the same letter, and the content was similar:

[General Zhao (Xiao): The Imperial Capital seems to be in trouble, though it is not yet certain. I have handed the token for mobilizing troops to my trusted subordinates at the West Mountain Camp. If anyone comes with the token to assemble the army and enter the capital to serve the King, you shall cooperate.]

The letter had no signature, but judging by the form of address, it was undoubtedly from the Emperor in the capital.

Chen Aoyun pointed to their nearly identical letters and said: "With this letter, the logic of the plot can be explained!"

"It must be that before you and I, these plot Raiders, appeared, the Emperor in the capital had already sensed something and prepared a contingency plan in advance. The contingency plan is his trusted generals and that token!"

"Now there is a reason for the ambush as well. The 'Anomaly' in the Imperial Capital must have sensed this contingency plan, which is why it sent people to ambush us!"

"This letter is not enough to increase the 'Crusade Value'; finding that token is the key to increasing the 'Crusade Value'."

Zhao Hongxiu nodded and added: "Once we find that token, we can mobilize troops to clear the monarch's side."

"The problem now is, who has that token? The ambush from the Imperial Capital killed quite a few people; only we, the plot Raiders, survived the ambush."

"Could the person holding the token have been assassinated in the ambush? If they were assassinated, is the token on their corpse or in their room? Or has it already been taken away?"

After discussing for a while, the three decided to split up.

Xiao Zhenghong wanted to find the barracks of the dead enemy generals and search for the token mentioned in the letter.

Zhao Hongxiu would go to the military camp's morgue to see if the token was on the corpses of those deceased generals.

As for Chen Aoyun, he was responsible for keeping watch for Xiao Zhenghong.

It was about to get dark, and the three decided to take action after nightfall.

"After dark, our time for action is limited. According to [Plot Rule 4], we must fall asleep at the Hour of the Rat... What does the Hour of the Rat mean?"

Zhao Hongxiu and Xiao Zhenghong looked at Chen Aoyun in unison. Chen Aoyun did not expect them to have such a question, but upon second thought, he felt it made sense. The historical gap in Huaxia Civilization was severe, so it was normal for them not to know what the Hour of the Rat meant, so he explained:

"The Hour of the Rat is from 11 PM at midnight to 1 AM the next day. You don't understand the time; how did you handle these kinds of prompts in previous Game of National Destiny plots?"

Xiao Zhenghong shrugged, "In previous Game of National Destiny plots, Huaxia Civilization did not manifest, so how would such terminology appear?"

Chen Aoyun scratched his head embarrassedly, "It seems my appearance has actually made the plot more difficult to raid..."

Zhao Hongxiu immediately corrected him, "You are wrong! Your appearance and the increase of Huaxia elements in the Game of National Destiny plot will only lower the difficulty!"

"Think about it this way: you can explain what the Hour of the Rat is. But if you weren't here and Huaxia Civilization didn't manifest, this 'Hour of the Rat' might be replaced by technical terms from some other civilization. There are so many civilizations contained in the Game of National Destiny; we definitely couldn't learn them all."

"Without you, we Raiders could encounter elements of various civilizations anytime, anywhere; that would be the real trouble!"

In the plots and missions of the Game of National Destiny, the lower the ranking of the country, and the less manifest its civilization, the more troublesome it is to raid.

Strong countries like Sakura Country have fixed elements of Yamato Civilization when raiding plots and missions; USA has fixed Anglo-Saxon elements... Only weak countries, only countries where civilization is not manifest, have random elements when raiding.

Zhao Hongxiu was not comforting Chen Aoyun; she was speaking the truth. If Chen Aoyun's appearance could fix the elements during Dragon Country's raids, this would be a huge boon for all Dragon Country Roleplayers!

... That night.

The three split up to search for the token.

Not knowing which tents were those of the dead generals, Chen Aoyun could only follow Xiao Zhenghong and search tent by tent.

When they reached the outside of a tent, Chen Aoyun's expression became complex. "This Game of National Destiny plot world is strangely realistic; there are actually 'pounding' sounds inside this tent."

There were actually women in the military camp, and women doing such things at that. Whether it was a special profession, a general's family member, or something else, in short, this also indirectly proved Zhao Hongxiu's words: 'Civilization is just a layer of skin for the plot.'

But Chen Aoyun still hadn't figured out how to understand Zhao Hongxiu's other sentence: 'The skin of civilization can also be utilized.'

This military tent had the sound of pounding, so it was definitely not the tent they were looking for. Chen Aoyun and Xiao Zhenghong were preparing to leave and continue searching the next one.

Suddenly. Several night patrol soldiers appeared! "Who goes there!"

The patrol soldiers blocked Chen Aoyun and Xiao Zhenghong, raising their spears and watching them vigilantly.

[Suspicion Value + 10... Suspicion Value + 10... Suspicion Value + 10...]

At the bottom of Chen Aoyun and Xiao Zhenghong's vision, prompts of the Suspicion Value increasing sharply appeared simultaneously. It wasn't just the Suspicion Value; more patrol soldiers were attracted to this side and came over one after another.

Seeing this, Xiao Zhenghong had to reveal his identity. "I am Xiao Zhenghong, General Xiao!"

After revealing his identity, the vigilance of the patrol soldiers dropped significantly, but the Suspicion Value kept jumping up!

[Suspicion Value + 3... Suspicion Value + 3... Suspicion Value + 3...]

Although the jump in Suspicion Value was smaller, at this rate, it was only a matter of time before the Suspicion Value reached 100.

[Plot Rule 3: Any rude, strange, or unruly behavior will increase suspicion towards you. When a character's Suspicion Value towards you reaches 100, they will view you as a serious threat and will proceed to eliminate you!]

"What should we do? If there isn't a reasonable explanation, I'm afraid these soldiers will soon take action. Once they take action, it will further trigger [Plot Rule 3]!" Xiao Zhenghong said to Chen Aoyun with a dark face, squeezing the words through his teeth.

Chen Aoyun was also helpless. Where the hell did these patrol guards come from? They had clearly been sneaking around in the dark to avoid these people; how could they still be discovered?

[Suspicion Value + 3... Suspicion Value + 3... Suspicion Value + 3...]

In just two short minutes, the Suspicion Value had already jumped to an extremely dangerous 82. If they couldn't find a reasonable explanation and let the Suspicion Value keep jumping like this, within a minute, the soldiers in front of them would explode.

Sweat seeped out on Chen Aoyun's forehead. Just as the Suspicion Value jumped to 91, Chen Aoyun suddenly remembered Zhao Hongxiu's words: The skin of civilization can also be utilized!

Chen Aoyun gritted his teeth: "Screw it, let's risk it!"